The Celtics Transition & Managing Expectations Next Season?

Tatum's injury has changed a fanbase's outlook overnight. Photo via https://x.com/LegionHoops/status/1615081065386999810/photo/1

It's fair that Celtics fans are a little more downbeat today than they were a few weeks ago. The change in the narrative around this team – still technically the reigning NBA champions – has been remarkable. We won't go over old ground, as coverage of the team's limp exit in the Playoffs, Jayson Tatum's injury, and the fact that the roster now looks set for an overhaul has been done extensively in recent days. 

Yet, perspective has changed for a reason, and it will be interesting to see how the team, the management, and the fans manage expectations for next season. While people are still betting on NBA Playoffs and Finals for this season, the odds are live for the 2025/26 season, and it seems sports books feel the Celtics mini-dynasty has come to a skidding halt. 

A lot can change in the offseason.

Of course, there is a long way to go until October. And while the Celtics may have financial constraints, a lot can happen. Sports books tend to have knee jerk reactions when setting future odds. OKC, the Knicks, and the Pacers are the three market leaders, so sports books don't go out on a limb until we see more action in trades and free agency. 

Nonetheless, they have pinpointed an apparent change in the Celtic's trajectory. They are 9^th favorites overall for the 2025/26 NBA Championship, with odds of +1800 to regain the crown. While that still suggests the team can contend, you must consider that the team has been considered a perennial favorite this past couple of seasons, starting the latest campaign with odds of +300 and under. 

Seasoned Celtics fans will, of course, have been through transitions before. Many will remember the 2013 season when Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Jason Terry headed to Brooklyn, setting in motion the future draft picks that would land Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The fans had to suffer through a 25-win season before that, however. 

Fans can deal with any transition. 

For sure, nobody is saying the Celtics will be falling that far. However, it's worth remembering for younger fans that periods of missing out on the Playoffs season after season are regular for many teams, and the Celtic's stretch of constantly being in contention over the last two decades is pretty abnormal. The point, as such, is that older fans will remember the dark days of the late 1990s – a 15-67 season under Michael Carr was ferocious – and recognize that it can happen to the greatest of teams. A broad measure of success in the 21st century has spoiled younger fans. 

Overall, you expect fans will seek evidence that the team's hierarchy has a plan. It has been mused on this site about what type of team Tatum will return to, assuming he comes back for the start of the 2026/27 season. Fans are aware that ill luck has been involved, but they will want management to outline a progression plan, saying, "We might not be top contenders this season, but we have a plan to remedy that for next season and beyond." 

And that, perhaps, is the rub: Celtics fans are hungry for success, like all fanbases, but those with cool heads will understand that Tatum's injury was unfortunate, yet it may also be a catalyst for some needed changes across the roster, strengthening the Celtics' hand for future campaigns. You write off this team at your peril, sure, and recent success does not belong to Tatum alone, but it set the ball rolling in a new direction for a team that was considered dominant just twelve months ago. Whatever happens next could be pivotal.